Motivation
Over the next few posts I plan to share with you some further quotations from the book 'Through Gates of Splendor' (which tells the story of 5 missionaries who died doing the work of their Lord in Ecuador in the 1950s).I finished the book today and right now there are too many thoughts running through my mind to share right now. But lets just say this has been the most worthwhile read ever. It is an amazing story, encouraging, humbling, and full of words which can only spur you on in sharing the gospel.
Here are a few paragraphs where the motivation of the men to go into Auca territory is explained:
- "Each of us knew when we married our husbands that there would never be any question about who came first - God and His work held first place in each life. It was the condition of true discipleship; it became devastatingly meaningful now.
It was a time for soul-searching, a time for counting the possible cost. Was it the thrill of adventure that drew our husbands on? No. Their letters and journals make it abundantly clear that these men did not go out as some men go out to shoot a lion or climb a mountain. Their compulsion was from a different source. Each had made a personal transaction with God, recognising that he belonged to God, first of all by creation, and secondly by redemption through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. This double claim on his life settled once and for all the question of allegiance. It was not a matter of striving to follow the example of a great Teacher. To conform to the perfect life of Jesus was impossible for a human being. To these men, Jesus Christ was God, and had actually taken upon Himself human form, in order that He might die, and, by His death, provide not only escape from the punishment which their sin merited, but also a new kind of life, eternal both in length and in quality. This meant simply that Christ was to be obeyed, and more than that, that He would provide the power to obey. The point of decision had been reached. God's command "Go ye, and preach the gospel to every creature" was the categorical imperative. The question of personal safety was wholly irrelevant.
On Sunday afternoon...Nate Saintsat at his typewriter to tell the world why they were going - just in case. In speaking these words he spoke for all: 'As we weigh the future and seek the will of God, does it seem right that we should hazard our lives for just a few savages?... May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for these we have failed to bring out of darkness. ... May God give us a new vision of His will concerning the lost and our responsibility.
"If God would grant us the vision, the word sacrifice would disappear from our lips and thoughts; we would hate the things that seem now so dear to us; our lives would suddenly be too short, we would despise time-robbing distractions and charge the enemy with all our energies in the name of Christ."
What motivated these men to enter the territory of a tribe known to the world as killers? Knowing the great risk to their lives, these men approached this act as a willing sacrifice...yet recognised it was nothing of a sacrifice compared to that given by our gracious God. They desired to serve God wholeheartedly with their lives. And they desired everyone to have the chance to know His Son...even this tribe everyone else was afraid to go near.
While not all of us will be called to such a location, I think the compassion and conviction shown by these men - men who were no different nor more perfect than any of us - is something to be encouraged by, but perhaps more importantly, something to strive for in our own lives.
Be motivated by that which motivated these men and find that desire to seek and save the lost.
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Hear Hear...
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